An Early Peace
by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Summary: Babylon 5 AU. Through a fortunate course of events, the Earth Alliance manages to broker peace with the Minbari at the abandoned listening post in Sector 919. But what will be the cost of the salvation of the Earth Alliance?
1. Prologue

**An Early Peace**

**Prologue  
The Earth Year 2246**

The bitterly cold wind bit into the team's flesh even through the thick clothing each member wore. Fog built up almost instantly in their goggles. Blind and cold, the three men raced for the safety of the lonely concrete outpost. The leader shed his goggles, knowing that he at least would have to be able to see the destination. His eyes instinctively closed from the harsh glare of the sun reflecting off the white snow and he forced them open slightly, just enough to make out a gray smudge in the distance. The team slowly trudged towards its target; each step had to be made through deep snow, slowing the team's pace to a mere crawl. By the time the three men reached the building, they were sweating from the exertion of walking the 150 meters from their shuttle to the abandoned listening post.

Commander John Sheridan slammed his shoulder into the door, forcing it open. He eagerly entered the dark structure, escaping the wind and at least some of the cold. "We need to find the auxiliary power generator," he shouted as his companions joined him inside. Silently realizing that he would no longer have to contend with the wind, his next words were much quieter. "Doctor Franklin, take a look outside and see if you can secure a perimeter."

"Right," the doctor replied before turning to leave to brave the cold once more.

Sheridan, meanwhile, returned to the task of finding the power generator to restore lighting and heating to the concrete outpost, a necessity if they would have a long wait for their expected visitor. The final member of the team, G'Kar, the Narn ambassador to Earth, joined in the search with as much vigor as the Earth Force commander; the Narn, evolving on a world with vast stretches of tropical environment, was far less suited to the cold than his two human comrades. The two men quickly found the power generator. Fortunately, even after several years of neglect, the mechanism still functioned. Electric lights blazed in all their glory and the heater slowly came to life.

"You know, Commander," the Narn said as he walked across the single-room building to stand next to the human officer, "it occurs to me that if this meeting with the Minbari fails, you can still find refuge in the Narn Regime. We can use a man of your talents and can even set you up with a small community of fellow humans on Homeworld."

John Sheridan shook his head. "No way, if Earth goes down, I go with it," rejecting the proposition without a second thought.

"A noble sentiment, if a foolhardy one." The Narn turned as a shadow appeared at the entrance of the small outpost. "Ah, Doctor, I was just telling the Commander…" G'Kar stopped as Franklin entered the building, his hands held high in the air and a Minbari following him, holding a silver-colored pistol. Sheridan and G'Kar stared at the Minbari silently, waiting for him to make the first move.

The moment passed endlessly. Sheridan reflected on the fact that he had never seen a live Minbari before despite his service in the war. It had been difficult to associate the lifeless bodies he had seen with the race who had effortlessly annihilated one Earth Force fleet after another. The Minbari standing in the entrance was clearly an old man; nevertheless, he maintained a quiet dignity that belayed the years evident on his worn face.

As if suddenly becoming aware of the threat the weapon represented, the Minbari lowered the energy pistol. "Precaution…only," he said a stuttered English. "I am Lennon…" the Minbari stated before being cut off by a frantic series of _beep_'s from his jacket.

"Another precaution?" Stephen Franklin asked, somewhat sarcastically, with a single eyebrow raised.

The Minbari either missed or ignored the subtle undercurrent and opened his thick jacket, removing a long, thin cylinder. Words, incomprehensible to Sheridan, echoed from the device. The commander glanced at the Narn, who claimed to be fluent in Minbari, but the ambassador waved him off, listening intently on the conversation. The team's Minbari visitor now began to respond. He spoke rapidly for a brief moment then paused before continuing to speak once more. This time, he spoke deeply and slowly, words that seemed to call for obedience. The 'or else' was also clearly implied by the tone.

"G'Kar," Sheridan said, trying to copy the Minbari's tone in his own statement. Evidently it worked, for the Narn turned to face the commander and began to explain.

"Apparently, this Lennon placed several drones in hyperspace just near the jump point. Those drones have reported the presence of a Centauri cruiser…"

"_Centauri_?" Franklin interjected.

"Yes, Doctor, your hearing is quite functional," G'Kar responded. "As I was saying," the Narn continued, with a glance at Franklin, "the drones reported the presence of a Centauri cruiser and Lennon has warned them to leave the area immediately or face swift retribution."

"That must have sent them scurrying," Sheridan said.

"Oh indeed Commander," the Narn responded, a smile planted on his face. "I only wish I could have seen it in person."

"Still," Sheridan pondered aloud, "that leaves Stephen's question; why was the cruiser here in the first place? We're well off the regular trade routes and the nearest Centauri outpost is light-years away."

"Our meeting…not a secret…yes?" the old Minbari said, stating the obvious and interrupting the conversation between the Earth Force officers and the Narn ambassador.

"_In'la phili kur'il dra'ent'il?_ G'Kar replied. He noticed the confused look on the faces of his human companions and spoke again, this time in English. "I offered to translate for him, since his English, while better than your Minbari, is not quite adequate to the task of formulating a cease fire."

The Minbari began to speak quickly and Sheridan found it difficult to differentiate between words; it was as if each sentence was a necklace, with each word a bead in the ornate object. The Narn listened intently before turning towards Sheridan and Franklin. "Gentlemen, you are quite fortunate."

"How so?" Franklin replied.

"Our esteemed Minbari friend has been authorized by his government to seek a settlement to the conflict." G'Kar smiled. "It appears as though your world will live to see another day."

Sheridan couldn't help echoing the sentiment and a broad smile emerged on his face. It died when he saw the look on the Minbari's face. _So, this is how it feels when someone walks over your grave._

* * *

_  
_

Hurry up and wait. The phrase had passed from generation to generation of military servicemen, crossing national and even species lines. Whether fighting with swords, muskets, or starships, the principle remained the same. John Sheridan knew it well. He and Doctor Franklin had been standing out in the cold for nearly fifteen minutes, serving as a scratch honor guard for the approaching diplomatic party, whose shuttle had just appeared over the horizon. While the wait had been relatively short, when one factored in the sub-zero temperatures of the abandoned world, the 'short' quarter-hour extended endlessly.

As Franklin continued to watch the approaching Earth Force shuttle, Sheridan turned his attention to the small cluster of Minbari standing beside their Flyer. The three-member Minbari delegation waited inside the old listening post along with Ambassador G'Kar, who would serve as an official mediator of the rapidly assembled peace conference, but the Minbari had left their mode of transportation heavily guarded by a full squad of soldiers. I don't even know why they bother, with a war-cruiser in orbit. The Earth Force vessel, _Heracles, _would be vaporized if it so much as hiccuped in the direction of the Minbari warship. The two men had tried to start conservation with the group earlier but the results hadn't been encouraging.

"Look sharp John, she's coming in now," Franklin said and Sheridan once more faced the shuttle. The small vessel ignited her landing thrusters and extended her landing prongs. While the prongs were no replacement for wheels and a runway, the strip on the abandoned listening post had long since decayed from the cold. Instead, the shuttle slowly settled onto the ice, the warmth of her hull melting several meters of snow. Steam rose towards the sky and the craft's ramp descended towards the ground. As soon as the ramp settled on the ground, the diplomatic team walked down and came into view.

The two men saluted as they noticed the leading figure, General Lefcourt. The general returned the salute. "John, excellent work with the initial phase," Lefcourt said. Before the young officer could acknowledge his superior's compliment, the general turned his attention to Franklin. "The same to you, Doctor; I'm sure your efforts will be noted by the court-martial board."

"We both thank you, General," Sheridan said quickly, cutting off any comment by Franklin about not having the opportunity to face a court-martial yet, despite several months of confinement.

"Commander, Doctor, let me introduce the other members of the diplomatic team, Senator Morgan Clarke and Ambassador Gerta Engels," the general stated.

"Commander," Clarke said, extending his hand, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you, both for what you did here and what you did to the Black Star." The medium-height, balding man gripped Sheridan's hand firmly and shook vigorously.

"I concur with Senator Clarke's sentiments Commander," the ambassador said. The woman, from Bonn in the European Union, was slightly shorter than the senator. Although over forty years old, the woman had lost little of her youthful looks.

"Madam Ambassador, it's good to see you again," Sheridan replied to the German woman. Ambassador Engels responded with a slight frown and a questioning glance. "My father," the commander explained, "introduced us at a reception held at EarthDome a few years ago, after I graduated from the Naval Academy."

"Well then, Commander Sheridan, I salute your rather exceptional memory."

Another bitterly cold gust of wind blew through the group of Earth Alliance soldiers and diplomats, cutting off any remark Sheridan could make. The general then spoke, ending the conversation permanently. "Commander, Doctor, you are free to return to the _Heracles. _We'll make our introductions to the Minbari, then head up to their cruiser for the official talks."

"General," Franklin said, "we wish you luck. Lennon has seemed reasonable enough, but the warriors that arrived have rebuffed any attempts at discussion the Commander or I have made. I doubt they'll treat you any better."

"I hope you're wrong Doctor," Senator Clarke stated.

"As do I," Stephen replied.

"Gentleman," Lefcourt spoke again, as if trying to end the conversation on a positive note, "we will meet again in a few days. We should be at peace once more by then." The three negotiators turned and walked towards the bunker as Franklin and Sheridan returned to the shuttle.

"John," Stephen said quietly, "you talked to those warriors the same as I did. You know we're not going to get any sort of peace treaty on easy terms. We're going to have to give up something big."

"I know and that's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

.  
Sleeping in zero gravity was not fun nor was it comfortable, relaxing, or anything else sleep should be. Wrapped in what was for all intents and purposes a bag that was securely fastened to a bulkhead, a person simply floated in the cabin and let exhaustion put them to sleep. The starships were not supplied with mattresses or beds so that even if the ship was under acceleration, the crew could not benefit from a normal sleep. It was one of the many reasons why Earth Force vessels seldom served long deployments away from rotating space stations. 

John Sheridan was an old space hand and at least knew what to expect while sleeping in his small cabin aboard the _Heracles_. He had traveled with his father on several diplomatic missions while a teenager and spent over a decade with Earth Force. He was thus mildly annoyed when his comm screen began to beep the incessant sound of an urgent message. The commander was awake in a few moments, though he allowed himself to catch his bearing for another several seconds after regaining consciousness. Sheridan released himself from his sleeping bag and gave a slight push that propelled him across the room to the comm screen.

"Comm, receive," Sheridan said, suppressing a yawn. The face of Victor Chavez, one of _Heracles' _lieutenants, appeared on the screen.

"Commander Sheridan, my apologies for waking you, but General Lefcourt's shuttle has departed from the Minbari cruiser."

Sheridan felt as though he had taken a double shot of expresso and any hints of sleep vanished from his mind. "What's the shuttle's ETA, lieutenant?"

"Ten minutes, sir," Chavez replied.

"Has it sent any messages?"

"About the meeting with the Minbari, you mean sir?" Sheridan nodded to the lieutenant's question. "No sir, he did not mention anything about the conference, just that the diplomatic team was returning."

"Thank you, lieutenant. End transmission." The screen went blank. Sheridan felt bad for cutting off the young officer, but his mind was preoccupied with more urgent matters. Sheridan wanted to be near the hanger bay when Lefcourt's shuttle arrived. He grabbed his uniform trousers from the rack and threw them on over his undergarments, followed by his jacket. He took a quick glance in the mirror to ensure that he was somewhat presentable and raced out of his cabin.

In zero gravity, one could quite literally race through the long corridors of the warship. For practical purposes, designers tried to limit the number of corners inside their ships, keeping hallways as long and straight as possible. This, combined with the fact that the majority of the crew were around twenty years of age, meant that crewmen shoved off from walls as hard as possible to gain the most velocity along the straight-aways. They freely admitted that deceleration was a problem, though slamming feet-first into the rare corner allowed one to rebound off in the new desired direction. And Earth Force footwear was rather durable. Though officers tried to limit the worst of the abuses, today, Sheridan ignored the official regulations and enlisted crewmen of the _Heracles _chuckled as they witnessed an officer outpacing them through the vessel, rebounding off the walls with the 'skills' of a green recruit.

Sheridan reached the landing bay before the general's shuttle…barely. The corridor outside the airlock exit was strangely empty; the commander expected a large party to have gathered to await news of the peace conference. He ignored the discrepancy and instead turned to watch the video monitors that showed the shuttle approaching the _Heracles_. The vessel first appeared as a distant star in the background and slowly grew larger and recognizable to the naked eye. The shuttlecraft decelerated, matching the velocity of the EarthForce cruiser. With a series of quick flicks with the thrusters the pilot closed the meters-long distance between the two ships. A final burst of reaction mass brought the two vessels together, docking the shuttle with the cruiser's airlock.

The minutes passed endlessly as Sheridan waited for the passengers to enter the _Heracles_, numerous questions waiting on his lips. The airlock finally opened and General Lefcourt walked through, followed by a pair of EarthForce Marines. The two soldiers had been relieved of their rifles while on the Minbari warship but would nonetheless have made a good albeit brief account themselves with just their combat knives and PPG pistols. Though the other members of the diplomatic team had only just begun to disembark, the general gestured to Sheridan.

"Commander," he spoke evenly, "with me." Without another word, the general softly pushed off from the deck. Sheridan followed, crossing the paths of several of the soldiers he had zipped by minutes earlier. Any amusement they might have felt was carefully hidden from the sight of the general flying in front of the commander. Sheridan knew that Lefcourt in his current state of mind would not have noticed a nuke detonating nearby much less a quick hint of disrespect from an enlisted soldier.

The general's voyage ended at a private conference room located near the airlock. He grabbed hold of a handle bar next to the door. Sheridan followed suit, his forward momentum dying with a harsh tug on his arm. The automatic door triggered, allowing the two men to enter. As the door closed, Sheridan waited for Lefcourt to recount the peace negotiations; instead, the ominous silence continued to stretch on.

"Sir," Sheridan said, the words sounding harsh as they shattered the quiet atmosphere, "what happened?" The commander wanted to add something more, release the ocean of questions floating in his head but the general finally spoke, interrupting any other comments.

"My apologies, Commander. The negotiations were…trying. They started well, too well in fact. We were all astounded by the terms. The Earth Alliance will be allowed to maintain its own domestic policy, though the Minbari will now decide our foreign policy. War with the Minbari will now mean war with Earth. Along those lines, Earth will provide bases for Minbari forces and the Minbari will have control over the size and composition of EarthForce."

"So we're just a puppet state now? If the Minbari can decide on the strength of EarthForce, what's to stop them from just getting rid of it?"

"Absolutely nothing, Commander. From what we all heard during the negotiation though, it sounds like we won't just be a Vichy to their Third Reich. For one thing, they swore that this defense pact is mutual; war with Earth will now mean war with the Minbari." The general gave a half-hearted chuckle. "If anyone plans on pulling a Mers el Kebir on us, they won't last long enough to regret it."

"At least they've agreed to pay us in security for the freedom they've stolen," Sheridan said with disdain.

"I won't say I'm delighted with the concept of being a sepoy for the Minbari, but it's a damned sight better than seeing Earth as a burning cinder! The Minbari leaders, the Grey Council they call themselves, by the way, were quite insistent that Earth may govern itself as it wishes. There will be no pillaging of our resources in reparations for the war. They also promised to permit free trade with any power not currently warring with the Minbari."

"And? When is the other shoe going to drop, General?"

"You know me too well, John," Lefcourt said in a sad, tired voice. Warning bells screamed in the commander's head. "The negotiating team would have been willing to sign off on those terms without hesitation. We were about to do so, only a few hours into the discussions when the Minbari mentioned their final term. John…they, the Minbari, want you."

For Sheridan, the world seemed to stop as the implications of the general's statement sunk in. Speaking the words had the opposite effect on Lefcourt, for words began to escape from his mouth in a rush.

"The Minbari warrior caste wouldn't be moved from the demand, no matter what we offered. They want blood for the _Black Star_. A couple of the other Minbari tried to suggest some sort of compromise but the warriors wouldn't budge." The general paused for a moment, regaining control. "I'm sorry John, there's just no other way. I won't insult you by saying it's your decision, because you know I can't do that and I know I wouldn't really be offering you a choice at all. I…" Lefcourt's voice failed him for a moment, "I can get you a few days to put your affairs in order, but not much longer."

Sheridan nodded, giving himself a few more seconds to compose himself before having to speak. "I understand sir." He stopped, not trusting himself to say anything else and his eyes turned to the porthole on the wall of the conference room, where the Minbari warship stood in clear view.

* * *

.  
"Satai, the human shuttle is on final approach." 

Coplann's words did not spark any movement in Delenn, meditating on the floor of her quarters.

"The humans say Sheridan is with them."

Delenn continued to remain motionless and her eyes stayed shut but this time she responded to the warrior's words. "Of course Sheridan is with them, Coplann. You offered them the choice of extinction or the execution of a soldier who has done only his duty. What did you expect of them, Coplann? Sheridan is dead either way, only now his death inflicts even more dishonor upon us."

"You do not understand, Delenn."

"No, Coplann, I understand completely. Remember, it was I that started this crusade. I know the desire for revenge. I also know how the taste of vengeance is bitter and is no salve for your pain and anger."

Coplann flinched, as if struck. The ironclad will that had forced the surrender of Sheridan as a term for peace seemed to buckle.

But it did not break.

"The Council has agreed upon this course of action," Coplann said, hiding behind the decisions of the Council. "The humans will be arriving soon, we should be there to meet them." Coplann turned to depart.

"I will be there shortly," Delenn said. Coplann paused for a moment, then left, knowing Delenn would say no more.

Delenn continued to mediate, trying to think of some way to deter Coplann from his course. If he could be convinced to spare Sheridan, the other warriors would follow him. Her words, however, had proven powerless. She knew that any hope of a lasting peace would die with Sheridan, that the Earthers would never accept the peace if it were bought with Sheridan's blood. One day, they would return to demand blood to water the ground of his grave.

Coplann had not accepted the argument, stating that the Minbari would just have to crush the humans again, as they had done so easily in this war. Eventually, he argued, the humans would learn.

And Sheridan would die.

She had even consulted with the Vorlons, hoping they might be convinced to speak out against Coplann. They had responded in their usual, cryptic fashion. Standing in Dukhat's old chambers, she had confronted them. Pleaded with them. Throughout it all, they had stood silent. As she prepared to leave, though, one of them, the darker one, spoke.

"Some must be sacrificed if all are to be saved."

The words had not comforted her. She asked for clarification. Did that mean Sheridan had to die? Was there no other way to end the war and prepare for the next? Again, the Vorlons refused to answer her questions. Once more she started to leave, when the other spoke.

"The truth points to itself."

She stopped. So, yes, Sheridan is the sacrifice that will save us? She did not expect an answer and did not receive one. She began to walk towards the doors again, but this time, the Vorlons remained silent.

In her quarters, Delenn opened her eyes, the memory fading. The humans were arriving and she did indeed need to be present for their arrival. She stood and adjusted her robe before leaving her quarters, the words of the Vorlons echoing in her mind.


	2. Chapter I: On the Border

**Chapter I: On the Border**

**The Earth Year 2264**

The tramp freighter _Golden Touch_ raced towards the idle jump gate that rested a little over 100,000 kilometers in front of her in a barren Earth Alliance border system. The freighter was old, produced by Edgar Industries Mars shipyards several years before the Earth-Minbari War. She was one of the standard human designs, an economy model perfectly suited for one of Earth's major shipping lines. After 15 years of faithful service, she had been sold off at auction, as the firm upgraded its fleet of interstellar cargo vessels with models incorporating the new technologies that had slowly flowed into the Earth Alliance from the Minbari Federation. A small firm, a new company that specialized in trade with the Narn Regime, had purchased the freighter and conducted some minor upgrades on her engines at the Orion VII yards. Since then, the _Golden Touch_ had worked the trade routes between the Narn Homeworld and the EA outer colonies without incident.

That at least was what the official records on Commander Charles Ericson's display panel claimed. _And I'd wager a year's salary that not more than one word in ten is accurate_. Aboard the EAS _Thunderchild_, the EarthForce officer knew he would soon know just how much the freighter captain had rigged his logs. The corvette and a half-squadron of Reaper model Starfuries followed in the wake of the freighter, steadily closing with her.

"Kat," the commander said to the communications officer sitting to his right, "warn them once more, if you don't mind."

"Yes sir, sending the message now," came the formal response. Ensign Katerina Ganchukova, fresh from the Academy, spoke in a voice too loud for the small confines of the corvette's bridge. It ironically made conversations with the communications officer a rather difficult experience. It did however add a degree of intimidation to her voice, something useful at the moment.

"Freighter _Golden Touch_," she began, "this is the Earth Alliance warship _Thunderchild_. You are ordered to power down your engines and submit to an inspection. If you refuse to comply, we will use deadly force."

Silence echoed from the comm system for several seconds before Ericson gave up hope of a response. "Very well, let's escalate this by a notch or two. Lieutenant Tanaka, prep missile tube one."

"Aye sir." The weapons officer sent the appropriate commands to the missile bay.

"And use a nuke, Lieutenant."

Ensign Ganchukova looked up in surprise but the Tanaka was unfazed, having served on border patrol for several months, taking part in the interception of dozens of suspected smugglers. "Missile ready Commander."

"Set it to pass within ten kilometers of the freighter and detonate a hundred kilometers in front it. I don't want the skipper of that crate to weasel himself out of a prison sentence through some legal technicality that he never heard our warnings." Judging by the fact that the tip on the smuggler operation came all the way from EIA high command, the freighter captain was looking at a _very _long prison term.

"Flight plan loaded…missile away." The projectile rocketed out of the missile tube on the _Thunderchild _at over 100 kilometers per second. With that kind of velocity, the missile crossed the distance between the two vessels in just under a minute. The missile buzzed the freighter in a flash and the nuclear device in the nose detonated. For an instant, a new star shined brightly right in front of the _Golden Touch_.

"Commander, she's speeding up, redlining her engines! It looks like she's still heading for the jump gate."

Ericson could only shake his head at the sheer lack of sense the smuggler had displayed during the chase. Twenty years ago, she might have been able to escape this close to a jump gate. The Earth Alliance had never had much use for boarding operations. In combat, civilian space stations usually surrendered to passing naval forces and military stations were destroyed. Disabled warships might be investigated but they never offered any resistance. The result was EarthForce lacked any sophisticated technology in the field. Twenty years ago, Ericson, with his pulse cannons out of range, only had the option of using missiles, which would have destroyed the freighter, or sending his fighters forward to try to disable the suspected smuggler. Of course, there was no guarantee that the Reapers, without the precise fire-control system of the corvette, wouldn't inadvertently destroy the ship by hitting her reactor or opening her crew compartments to space. With those choices and a high command unwilling to risk destruction of _alleged _smugglers, Ericson would have had to try to close to gun range, giving the freighter the opportunity to escape in degraded sensor conditions of hyperspace.

Since the end of the war, however, circumstances had changed considerably.

"Mr. Tanaka, you know what to do. Crash her 'net."

"I had tubes two and three already prepped with virus bombs for such an eventuality," the lieutenant said with a grin on his face, "we can fire at your pleasure, Commander."

"Fry her paint with the sensor array first, let her know what's coming, then launch the missiles."

Invisible tachyon beams echoed from the corvette, lighting her up like a Christmas tree to any halfway operational sensor array in the system. The beam striking the freighter made her just as visible and sent alarms buzzing throughout the ship. Even the freighter's simple AI knew that many powerful tachyon emissions meant something was wrong.

Meanwhile, a pair of missile tubes opened on the _Thunderchild_. Outwardly, the missiles inside resembled the nuclear-tipped missile fired a few moments earlier. It was only on the inside that differences revealed themselves. The two missiles lacked any sort of warhead but had a sophisticated computer network and a powerful communications system. The missiles would close with the smuggler where their AI's would access the freighter's computer system and upload a series of viruses designed to shutdown the entire network on the freighter: engines, sensors, communications…life support. The ship could then be captured without difficulty, though the ship would have to be towed to a fleet base to delete the viruses.

The engines on the two missiles powered up, preparing to launch in a few seconds. It was then that the trap was sprung.

* * *

. 

Commander Susan Ivanova stood up from her chair and stretched, feeling the kinks in her body start to disappear. Slightly refreshed, she dropped back into her chair overlooking the large sensor plot in the CIC of the carrier _Garunda_. Her eyes glanced over the blinking dots that represented the carrier's Starfuries scattered across the local region of hyperspace. As CAG, each one was her responsibility and she hadn't realized just how much responsibility it was until she had taken over the post a month ago.

It certainly didn't help that the current operation had been organized hastily by Fifth Fleet. Word had come from Intelligence of a major arms smuggler passing through the sector that lead the fleet to dispatch a group of corvettes to picket a series of border systems. _Garunda_, as the only capital ship available for immediate action, had been sent as back-up and a command-and-control vessel for the search group. Given the importance of the smuggler, she and Captain Hiroshi had organized a patrol of Reapers to watch for support vessels. Those patrols constituted the bulk of the dots on her display. The rest of her active fighters circled the _Garunda _as part of the CAP and six fighters were flying with the _Thunderchild_, the corvette that had actually spotted the smuggler.

So far, the precautions had proven unnecessary; the only contacts had come from the other four corvettes, traveling towards the _Thunderchild _from their own systems to provide support, if something went wrong. The boring, excruciating work, all for nothing…

"Commander, new contact spotted at extreme sensor range."

Ivanova glanced upwards instinctively. _It wasn't a challenge or a complaint, I _like _boring work that won't get me killed_. "Any IFF?"

The sensor officer in the CIC was quiet for a moment. "Yes, ma'm, she's responding to IFF, but its garbled…can't get an exact reading. It looks like it may be a fighter from Delta Squadron."

Ivanova looked around CIC, seeing the eyes of all the officers on her. "Alright, people, we've all seen this kind of trick before. Stay sharp. I want two fighters from the CAP to go investigate. Get a visual confirmation of this mystery fighter."

In the swirls of hyperspace around the large carrier, two Reapers engaged their thrusters, angling themselves towards the unknown contact. With a flash of light, the fighters jetted away from the _Garunda_, the four engines hanging on their wingtips burning brightly. With a gattling-gun style pulse cannon slung under the elongated fuselage, the Reapers primarily served as heavy fighters but were still well suited to the role of interceptor.

The _Garunda_'s plotting board showed the two fighters slowly approaching the bogey, which was lazily flying on a steady course towards the carrier. The voice of one of the officers in CIC abruptly distracted Ivanova as she watched her carrier aerospace group in action.

"Commander, Captain Hiroshi is on the line."

The commander nodded and picked up the headset resting on the table in front of her. "Captain, Ivanova here."

"What's going on Commander?"

"Captain, we've picked up an unidentified fighter at extreme sensor range; it may be one of our craft but we haven't been able to confirm that yet. I've sent two of the CAP fighters to rendezvous with the bogey and I'd like to launch the alert fighters, in case we have an enemy strike force inbound."

"Permission granted." The captain paused on the line for a moment. "I'm also ordering the ship to general quarters so get the rest of the fighter group ready to launch. Do you still have Alpha Squadron prepped for anti-shipping strike?"

"Yes ma'm, with Beta Squadron configured for anti-fighter operations."

"Excellent, keep me notified on further developments." Hiroshi ended the link, allowing Ivanova to turn her attention back to the board.

"Lieutenant Wills, patch into the fighters' comm systems."

"Aye, Commander." There was a moment's pause, followed by a burst of static from the speakers in CIC.

"…repeat, this is _Garunda _Gamma Seven to unknown fighter, identify yourself." There was no response from the bogey. _That fighter should be able to use its short-range comm systems in a few minutes…what the hell is it waiting for_? Another burst of static echoed from the speakers before the voice of Gamma Seven reappeared. "Chris, is that you?"

Ivanova lunged for the headset and pulled it over her head as she dialed the frequency for Gamma Seven. "Gamma Seven, this is the CAG, what happened?"

"I've got the bogey on short-range radio, ma'm, it's Christopher Black."

"Delta Four? Link me through to him." The connection blanked out for a moment, then reinitialized. "Chris, it's Commander Ivanova, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Commander," came the reply in Chris Black's raspy voice, the result of smoke inhalation during the Earth-Minbari War. "I've lost my long-range comm system, sensors are a bit shaky, God only knows how I managed to find the ship in hyperspace."

"What about the rest of Delta Squadron? Were you attacked?"

"No, ma'm, no attack. I have no idea what caused the electronic failures. I tried to track down someone else from the squadron, but didn't have any luck."

"So, there's no one covering your patrol sector?"

There was a seconds-long pause over the comm system. "No ma'm…I tried to let someone know, but I just couldn't…"

"Commander," Wills shouted, interrupting the conversation. "Urgent message from _Thunderchild_…she's under attack."

* * *

. 

"Jump gate activation, Commander!"

Ericson jumped up in his chair at the words. "Cancel missile launch…what's coming through the jump gate?"

Before the sensor array could identify the new arrivals, Ericson noticed that the _Golden Touch_ had dramatically changed course, heading 'down' relative to the plane of the jump gate…and that she had changed course at the same exact second the jump gate activated. _Oh shit…_ "It's an ambush. Turn us around, full power to engines. Get us the hell out of here!"

"Aye sir, coming about."

"Commander, we've identified the newcomers…three old _Olympus_-class corvettes and a large group of fighters, thirty or so, a mix of Nova Starfuries and Belt Alliance fighters."

In a sense, Ericson was pleased with himself, identifying the trap before actually learning the nature of the attack. In a more real sense, he doubted whether the extra few seconds would save his command. Though the _Thunderchild _was faster than the corvettes emerging from the jump gate, that many fighters would almost certainly be able to damage the EarthForce corvette's engines and allow the hostile warships to chase her down. At which point the _Thunderchild _would die.

"Kat," Ericson said, as casually as he could manage, "inform the _Garunda _that we're under attack and require assistance. And, ask them to hurry, if they wouldn't mind."

The ensign managed a nervous snort at the commander's tone.

"Commander," the sensor officer spoke again, the terror of combat clearly evident in his voice. "Jump point forming, 5,000 kilometers right ahead of us."

_Damn…whatever is coming out of hyperspace is going to be big…as if that jump gate force isn't overkill already._ "New heading, 0 by 0," a heading that would send the _Thunderchild _straight up, relative to her current position, "prepare to fire missiles at the new contact."

"What load-out should we use, sir?" Tanaka asked.

"Whatever's in the tubes."

"Commander," Ganchukova spoke up, "message from the new contact."

"Put it on, Ensign."

"This is the cruiser _Liberty _of the Johan Adelsvärd Earth Resistance Brigade to EAS _Thunderchild_, you have ten seconds to power down your weapons and engines or we will open fire. Nine seconds…eight…"

"Turn it off," Ericson shouted.

"Any response, sir?" asked the young ensign.

"Yes," the commander said, before turning to the weapons officer. "Fire missiles, target the _Liberty_. Then load another salvo, all nukes. Open fire with the guns at anything in range."

"Yes sir, missiles away, weapons firing."

Eight missiles launched from the _Thunderchild_, turning away from the corvette's new heading and screaming towards the _Liberty_. The cruiser, an old Earth-Minbari War era _Hyperion_, lacked the new technologies that had been incorporated into EarthForce but her point defense system was not to be laughed at. Six of the missiles were destroyed _en route_ to the cruiser. Of the two remaining missiles, one was virus bomb intended for the now-forgotten freighter. As programmed, the AI interfaced with the cruiser and uploaded the viruses…where they were promptly identified and eliminated by the _Liberty_'s anti-virus programs. The other missile, with a conventional warhead, slammed into the cruiser, burning away several square meters of armor. The cruiser's interceptor grid protected the vessel from the _Thunderchild_'s pulse cannons, though the stream of fire from the corvette slowly inched its way closer to the _Liberty_.

The resistance brigade did not waste its brief reprieve. The four warships fired thirty missiles as the fleeing EarthForce corvette. Ten of them fell to the vessel's defense grid. The other twenty, all virus bombs, passed by the warship, their AI's sending viruses into the vessel's computer network. The _Thunderchild_'s computer managed to eliminate the first dozen before being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

The bridge of the warship went black as systems throughout the ship failed. Commander Ericson stood up from his chair and swept his eyes across the bridge, as they slowly became accustomed to the sudden darkness. He was silently thankful that the artificial gravity systems had somehow survived the virus attack. "Alright, arm yourselves everyone, we can expect boarding parties any minute. We just have to hold for a little while, then _Garunda _will arrive."

The seven men and women on the bridge walked towards the bulkhead, which had been closed in anticipation of combat. Footsteps were uncertain in the darkness but the officers and men made it to the exit without incident. The door, however, remained closed.

"We must have lost that system," Ericson said. "Where's the manual release?"

"Here, sir," the weapons officer spoke off to the side of the commander. He slammed his elbow into a closed panel, forcing it open. Tanaka found the release button, connected to a battery that could open the door in an emergency, and pushed it. The door still refused to open. "Damn," he swore. "Commander, the viruses completed screwed up the system. We can still burn through with our PPGs."

"No, we don't have enough spare caps." Sidearm PPGs had been mandatory issue for officers and NCOs for the last decade. The small _Thunderchild_, however, lacked any other infantry weapons, meaning the bridge crew could not resupply themselves with weapons if they broke through the jammed door. "We'll make our stand here. Spread out and find cover."

The commander made his way to a console in the front of the bridge, several meters from the door. Ensign Ganchukova ended up behind a chair nearby. He could see the young women lifting her PPG with confusion, as though she didn't know what to do with it. Her hand was clearly shaking. Ericson wanted to say something to calm her down, but nothing would come to him. As it was, he was not in a condition to comfort anyone else. The silence was getting to him. He knew that a large force of rebel marines was forcing its way through his ship, killing his men, and he couldn't help them, didn't even know how they were fairing. The wait stretched on and on, with no word from the outside world.

Then, there was a faint mechanical whine, as if someone had tried to trigger the manual release in the corridor outside the bridge. "Here they come," Ericson spoke, his voice carrying across the silent bridge. The whine stopped and for several seconds nothing happened. Then, the bulkhead exploded in a burst of fire that ruined Ericson's night vision. He ducked behind the console, pain flaring in his eyes from the unexpected burst of light. He could hear the distinctive sound of PPGs firing and could see the eerie red shadows they cast in the darkened room.

The commander forced himself to his knees, facing the enemy, and lifting his weapon. There was a grunt of pain from a man kneeling nearby; it sounded disturbingly like Tanaka. _Don't think about it, just fire, think later._ With his night vision still in flux, he couldn't accurately pick a target. Ericson pointed the weapon at a flashing PPG weapon in front of him and fired. The burst of plasma flew across the room and hit something. The weapon he had targeted was silent. A PPG round slammed into his console and the commander switched his focus to his new opponent, searching for the source of the PPG fire. With his attention otherwise occupied, he never noticed his first target opening fire again, until the PPG burst slammed into his chest.

The blow sent the commander to the floor; his chest feeling like it was on fire. There was another scream, from another of his men. It was getting hard to breathe. He saw Kat throw her pistol to the ground, shouting that she surrendered, just don't kill her. In his last conscious thought before the darkness took him, he reflected that he didn't blame her.

* * *

. 

Ivanova wished she could have escaped _Garunda_'s CIC and returned to the cockpit of her Reaper under happier circumstances. Her Reaper lead the thirty-two fighters of Alpha and Beta Squadrons as they raced through hyperspace to the jump gate near the _Thunderchild_'s last reported position. _Garunda _followed at her best possible speed, with the fighters of Gamma Squadron providing the CAP. As she moved through hyperspace, she tried to reconstitute the scouting Delta Squadron into a single coherent formation.

"We're approaching the gate, Commander," came a voice behind her. Lieutenant Harold Isaacs occupied the rear-seat in the Reaper, handling sensors and electronic warfare, letting her devote herself fully to the battle.

"Send the activation code Harry," she replied. Ivanova thumbed the comm switch that would let her speak with the entire fighter group. "We're going through, people. Beta Squadron move first, get passed the gate as fast as possible and clear the way for Alpha Squadron."

There was a swirl of blue light in front of her that signified the dimensional shift to normal space. Ivanova shoved the throttle of the Reaper forward, redlining her engines. The fighter shot forward through the jump gate. Her first look at normal space was a corvette slowly moving towards her with several older Starfuries circling around it.

"They're right on top of the jump point," she shouted into the comm system, warning the fighters following her. She through the Reaper into a series of random rolls, firing her thrusters in all directions. The corvette, caught unawares, didn't even try to target her and instead concentrated its attention on the stream of fighters emerging from hyperspace. The second Reapers flew through without incident and even managed to take out an enemy Starfury with a missile.

The next four Reapers were not so fortunate; before they could even begin evasive maneuvers they were met with a hail of fire that destroyed them one by one. Now expecting resistance, the remaining Beta Reapers exited the jump gate already in the midst of evasive rolls, letting all but two of them pass through unharmed.

It was only then that Ivanova noticed the ring of enemy fighters that began to close with her fighter group, scattered in a sphere around the jump gate. "Beta Squadron, we have incoming hostiles, regroup on me."

The jump point was still open, but Alpha Squadron had not yet emerged. Before she could ask the problem, she found out the reason for the delay. A wave of fighter-launched missiles exited from hyperspace. The interference of the jump point meant the Alpha Reapers couldn't control them and the missiles had to rely on their own rather simple AI's. The turbulence of the transition caused several of the missiles to detonate prematurely. The losses proved worthwhile, as it was clear the resistance corvette had been caught unaware. Twenty warheads slammed into bow of the warship and a wave of fire erupted, moving along the ship. The explosion reached the reactor or the missile magazine, it was impossible to tell which, and the ship died in a fusion fireball.

Cheers of celebration filled the comm system. The Beta Reapers immediately turned to dive on the now lonely Starfuries orbiting the rapidly scattering remnants of the warship. Ivanova targeted one of the fighters slowly trying to gain velocity to escape. She thumbed the trigger on her joystick, igniting the six pulse cannons in the front of her fighter. A seemingly solid stream of fire tore into the nearly motionless Nova Starfury and ripped it to shreds.

The enemy fighters that had been closing with the Reapers backed off, having lost the support of the corvette. The momentary paused allowed Ivanova to take stock of the situation. Two more corvettes were advancing on the jump gate, about five minutes away. An old _Hyperion_-class cruiser sat motionless next to the stationary _Thunderchild_, trying to rig the corvette for towing.

"Commander," Isaacs spoke behind her, "we're getting a signal from the _Lightning_," one of the other patrolling corvettes, "she says she's under attack by resistance forces…wait, _Black Prince_ reports a large incoming strike force, resistance Starfuries and Frazi heavy fighters."

"Is _Garunda _aware of the attacks?"

"I'm not sure, Commander…but, I'm getting a report from the _Pandora_, it's a partial transmission that abruptly cut off…and a signal has come in from _Electra _of a large resistance brigade approaching to engage."

"That's the entire corvette screen."

"Yes ma'm."

"Alpha Squadron, Beta Squadron, we've received reports of attacks on the rest of the corvette picket force. We will withdraw to the _Garunda_, to cover her in case more strikes are inbound. There's nothing we can do for the _Thunderchild _now."

The Reapers mournfully turned from the enemy and retreated towards the hard-won jump point, leaving the enemy with their prize.

* * *

. 

Ivanova allowed her head to fall against the cushion in the Reaper's cockpit as the fighter powered down in the _Garunda_'s fighter bay. The carrier had spent twelve hours trying to save the picket corvettes, only to fail time and again. The aerospace group fought a number of skirmishes with the Resistance Brigades where the technologically inferior but numerically more numerous rebel fighters managed to keep the group away from the Resistance warships. Eventually, Captain Hiroshi had fallen back to the system where the _Thunderchild _had fallen, hoping to find her still there. Instead, there had been nothing but debris from the earlier fight between the Johan Adelsvärd brigade and the _Garunda _Reapers.

The cockpit in the Reaper opened. The commander stood up and climbed down the ladder the maintenance team had placed alongside. With her helmet tucked under her arm, she began a purposeful walk towards the bridge, where Captain Hiroshi waited. She passed a number of personnel during the journey, all downcast over the recent battle. The fact that the _Garunda _herself had never been in danger made the crewmen's self-recriminations worse.

Ivanova was almost pleased to have a turbolift to herself, so she didn't have to face any other member of the crew. _After all, it wasn't their fault, it was mine._ A few seconds of rapid acceleration brought the commander to the carrier's bridge and with a feeling of trepidation she stepped out.

"Commander," Sandra Hiroshi said quietly, "I know your group is exhausted, but I need you to get a scouting group together. I want to start patrolling the surrounding systems for signs of the Resistance; we don't want an attack on the battle group right now."

Ivanova nodded and allowed her eyes to run over the icons on the display board. When the initial word of the attacks arrived, Fifth Fleet had scrambled every available warship. The first reinforcements had already reached the system, two _Resolution_-class battlecruisers and an _Indomitable_-class missile cruiser. The warships, built along the lines of the venerable _Hyperion_'s, were far deadly than anything the Resistance possessed but as the recent clash show, quantity had a quality of its own.

"Once more ships have arrived we can…"

"Captain, jump point forming, 10,000 kilometers away, getting an IFF reading, it's the _Spartacus_, ma'm."

"Oh hell," Ivanova said in what she thought was a quiet voice at the mention of the flagship of the Fifth Fleet. The captain's soft laugh disabused her of the belief.

"I agree, Commander, the last thing either of us wants to see at the moment is the general."

"Captain," the sensor officer spoke once more, "another jump point forming nearby…it's a Minbari warcruiser…ma'm, it's the _Trigati_."

Ivanova wasn't sure how but Captain Hiroshi managed a smile, though it was quite apparent that it wasn't genuine. "Well, both General Sinclair _and _Shai Alyt Sinoval are here. That certainly makes things more interesting." The captain paused for a moment before turning to one of her officers. "Communications, extend my courtesies to them and ask if they would like to come aboard. I imagine they would like to discuss a few matters with me."


End file.
